Erik’s Leaving Do

This week Erik and Adrianna will head back to Slovakia to settle down and bring up little Dominik in more familiar surroundings.

I’ll miss the Bezak around the office, not to mention playing him at Badminton and ping-pong but he’ll still be part of the team and will be over to visit in June hopefully.

On Tuesday we went out for a few beers, starting at the Beehive and then moving to the White Hart once the Chelsea fans had gathered to watch their epic victory over Barcelona. I stayed over at Paulo’s flat in the Maltings and got to work 8:30 the next day feeling slightly the worse for wear…!

Jayesh & Priya Part 1

This Saturday was Jayesh & Priya’s Registry Wedding in Finchley, so we got dressed up and met up with everyone at Avenue House for the ceremony and subsequent photos, before reconvening at a restaurant on Finchley High Road.

In the evening we gathered at Mak HQ for more food and lots of chat and even a bit of singing and guitar playing.

Wet Wales Weekend

This Easter weekend we set off to Brecon to catch up with Mum for a couple of days. Unfortunately the weather was almost unremittingly wet, so major walks were out of the question, although we did manage a walk along the canal.

We also drove up North of Brecon around the Llyn Briane reservoir and surrounding hills – a very beautiful area even in the pouring rain!

On Saturday evening we had a lovely meal at The Black Swan, and generally ate too much and did not do enough exercise. Not exactly Plan A! But nice all the same . I also got up close and personal with a fully grown North African Milky Eagle Owl at the Mountain Centre, which was quite a buzz!!

On Sunday afternoon we headed over see to Roger & Angela and Sean in Monmouth. Roger cooked us all some fabulous Roast Lamb and we ate very heartily indeed (again!) and chatted all evening. Roger showed us some fascinating photos of various family members going back several generations, and took us through the family tree he’d researched on Ancestry.co.uk, which currently goes back to the early 1800s…! On Monday morning we shared a very fresh coffee, courtesy of the raw beans I had brought with me. Yum.

More pics here on Flickr…

Balloon trip

Last year my birthday gift for Smeeta was a balloon flight with AdventureBalloons.co.uk and we initially booked a flight last spring, but it was cancelled on the day because of the weather. We then forgot all about it until a month or so ago when we re-booked a flight from just south of Reading.

We both took the afternoon off to get to Padworth Village, just off the A4, and got there in plenty of time. The crew turned up in a Land Rover, towing the basket and additional gubbins in a trailer. We were invited to help them set up, and me and another guy were given the task of holding on to the inflating balloon (via a long rope) and jumping into the basket at the last minute.

Taking off was a weird experience: you suddenly become aware that you are no longer in contact with the earth, and before long you are looking down on houses and roads. It is eerily silent, until the powerful burners are lit up…

We set off south over the Aldermaston atomic weapons research facility, and out over the open fields of Berkshire. Saw a herd of deer cantering across a ploughed fields, in broad daylight. Also saw a Chinook helicopter, a light aircraft, and a couple of paragliders enjoying the early evening skies.

After a 40 min flight our pilot was busily radio-ing his land-based crew trying to decide where to land, and we eventually came down in a field alongside the A340, clipping a fence-post as we came in low… as one of the two ‘handlers’ I had to leap out as soon as we hit the deck, push the basket over on it’s side and then run around the front to hold the tethering rope to keep the balloon under control as it deflated and settled to the ground.

It was then all hands to the pump to fold and stow the massive ballon, and then the staff handed out glasses of bubbly and certificates to all. Great fun, thoroughly recommended!

Duc 999 Italia paintjob

Larry called in the week to tell me that my fairings were ready, so I left work early one afternoon to bomb up to Stoke Bruerne, north of Milton Keynes, to pick them up. The panels looked great: the combination of red/white/green looks really good and the finish is excellent. Looking forward to seeing them on the bike…!

Little (Big) Rory

This weekend we drove down to Bristol to see little Rory Ruston-Sanchez. And ‘little’ is probably not the right word; he’s quite a hearty fellow! We stayed in a cheapy motel on the A38 which was pretty rubbish but handy for both Bristol and Chew Magna; spent Saturday afternoon with Lucy, Bo and Rory, and then checked in before heading over to see Ursie, Annette & Dani in Pensford. That evening we had supper at the Bear & Swan in Chew Magna. Ate too much as usual!!

On Sunday we met up again at Kev & Di’s, including Bo’s Mum who was visiting for the weekend. Had a lovely time with the gang and then headed home up the M4.

Mr Biker Randle

Andy has been learning to ride a bike since just before Christmas and duly passed his test at the first attempt recently. He’s bought himself a brand new Yamaha 600 Diversion, which looks very nice and is ideal for a first bike. On Saturday we nipped out for a ride together, heading up the A41 to OnyerBike Aylesbury (North of), which is where he bought his bike, and also where I bought my Benelli Tornado.

We had a burger whilst there and then headed back through Aylesbury and Wendover, stopping at the Triumph dealer in Aston Clinton, from where we made our separate ways home. Great fun and hopefully the first of many rides out…

Gresham Blake made-to-measure

This weekend we popped down to Brighton for an appointment at the bespoke tailor Gresham Blake, to choose material and fitting details for my wedding suit. I chose a window-pane check cloth in mid-grey with a nice blue lining and understated finishes. The main man himself actually measured me up and he said he’d had his own suit made from the same cloth. Hopefully it will be classy rather than garish! Will have to go back for the final adjustments and fitting in a month or two.

We stayed with Alien and Charlotte in PortSlade and also took the chance to meet up with Becky and her lovely little boy Samuel, as bizarrely she has recently also moved to PortSlade. It must be on the up!! On Sunday the four of us had lunch at the fabulous Casa Don Carlos with Kevin and Anne, which was great fun, and the food was as good as ever.

Becky & Samuel


My Birthday Cake – thanks Charlotte!

Spring is here…

After the hopeless, heartless darkness that is winter (?!) the clocks have gone back and the days are getting longer at last. And plants are awakening in the garden: the daffs are out and the lovely magnolia is flowering.

Smeeta also took this very cute photo of a blue tit taking refuge under the lip of the bonnet of the Golf… she had to persuade it to leave before she could set off for work!!

Ursie, Annette & Dani visit

The Lindenbergs came to visit this weekend: Ursie drove up Friday evening and we dropped her at Hemel station on Saturday morning to go into London to catch up with Kate. We had planned to take Annette and Dani to Butterfly World near St Albans, but we turned up there to find it was not opening until April…!! DOH. Instead we stopped at the Ferrari showroom at Chiswell to have a look at the blingy cars, and then headed in to St Albans: walked around the Cathedral grounds and then toured around the Saturday Market before stopping at Pizza Express for some food. We picked up Ursie from the station later and they headed home Sunday lunchtime in the Cinquecento.